We All Bleed the Same Way
by DancerInTheDark101
Summary: Set in the three months between S1 and S2. Ben's almost suicidal in his attempt to become a great fighter; Hal struggles with his duties as second-in-command and Matt just wants his family to come back alive. Chapter 4 now up!
1. Chapter 1

**So sorry for all the chapter swaps etc etc! Something went wrong with my laptop when I was fiddling round with a few things and I ended up deleting chapters and uploading the wrong ones and then managed to incur the wrath of the dreaded Blue Screen Of Death. What a nightmare! So once again, sorry! **

**Hopefully everything is now fixed...**

**UPDATED 02/08/2012**

* * *

WE ALL BLEED THE SAME WAY

DANCERINTHEDARK101

* * *

Summary: [Set between S1 and S2] The three months where the Mason family dynamics changed so much; where Hal became the leader, Ben decided to pick up a gun and fight; and Matt was left just hoping his family came back alive.

_-FALLING SKIES-_

Hal sighed as he looked upon the sleeping figures of his two younger brothers. Ben lay on his stomach, one arm spayed above his head, the other tucked beneath the pillow that his head rested on. It was obvious that the middle Mason boy couldn't sleep on his back on account of the silver spikes that pierced the skin and ran the length of his spine. Sometimes Hal just had to take a minute and be grateful that they'd finally got Ben back after months of searching and not knowing. The harness had safely been removed, but now… the spikes weren't going away and Hal new there were other changes affecting his brother. Whether they were good or bad was yet to be determined.

And Matt, the youngest of the three brothers; he was laying on his side, curled up into a tight ball as if that could protect him from the nightmares and the alien creatures ravaging their planet. He was only nine years old, but had seen and done more than a nine-year-old boy should ever have to do. The eldest brother was just glad that he had not been required to pick up a weapon yet. He was hoping that it would be years before that would have to happen, but realistically, Matt would become a fighter sooner rather than later.

Leaning back against the chair he was sitting in, Hal shifted the gun in his lap. It had only been a week since the attack on Boston, but it felt like years. A week since they had defeated several Mechs with the transceiver signal, and a week since their father had willingly got on board an alien mother ship to save his middle son.

A lot had changed in that week. When Captain Weaver had first come back, alone, there had been chaos. Pope and Anthony had arrived earlier, wounded, but alive with no news to speak of, other than that they had seen smoke billowing from the tower.

And then Weaver had arrived without Tom Mason. The attack had been somewhat of a success as the tower hadn't fallen, but had been very severely damaged when a wounded Beamer had crashed into one of the arms.

Clenching his hands into fists as he watched his sleeping brothers, Hal remembered when they were all told about his dad. Weaver had told him to gather everyone left into the auditorium, without answering any questions that had been rapidly fired in his direction.

Hal remembered having to wake Ben up at Weaver's orders. He had wanted to let the teenager sleep; due to the severe headaches he had been on the receiving end of because of the signal they had blasted to confuse the Mechs and Skitters. But Weaver had stated that Ben needed to attend the briefing as well.

"_Tom Mason has boarded an alien mother ship in an attempt to negotiate with the aliens and hopefully find out a few answers as to the harnesses, the enslavement of the children and why they came to Earth in the first place."_

Of course, most of that was a carefully fabricated tale told so that to certain people of the 2nd Mass it seemed like that Mason had a legitimate reason as to boarding an _alien mother ship. _The real reason, as told to Hal and a few others in the inner circle chain of command – was that they had threatened Ben's life; had said that he wasn't fully free from the effects of the removed harness.

Hal sighed again. God… they'd only just got Ben back and they were already threatening to take him away again. Sure, he was his bratty, younger, geek of a brother… but he was _his_ bratty, younger, geek of a brother and there wasn't anything he wouldn't do for his family.

A low moan snapped Hal out of his thoughts and he was on his feet in an instant. Ben was tossing and turning on his cot, the sheets long been kicked off his partially naked form exposing the spikes running along his spine.

"Ben," he whispered, his hand snaking out and shaking his brother's shoulder. "Ben, wake up!"

With a gasp the middle Mason boy twisted and shot upright, his chest heaving as he sucked in much-needed air.

"Ben?"

Hal locked gazes with his younger brother, relieved to see that he was alert and his pupils reacting normally.

"Hal?" came the whispered response. "Wha? What's going on?"

"Nightmare. You remember what it was about?" Hal replied, motioning with his head for Ben to move over. He sat down on the cot, his hand still grasping his brother's shoulder.

Ben shook his head. "No," was the whispered response as he looked over to his still-sleeping brother.

There was a few minutes silence where they just sat next to each other, marvelling in the fact that they were both still alive and together. Hal checked his watch after a while, noting that it was almost six AM; time to get ready for the day ahead. He was just lucky he hadn't been put on night sentry that night.

"I gotta go, Ben. Captain wants us assembled at 0630 to discuss what the next course of action is. We can't stay here much longer. We're sitting ducks."

He ruffled his brother's hair and moved to get up when a hand shot out and gripped his forearm. Shocked, Hal stopped.

"Ben?"

His brother's eyes were focused, more so than he had ever seen them before. "I wanna fight," were the words he spoke. "I wanna help kill the Skitters. I want to get payback for what they did to me… to you and Matt, and to dad. Please…"

Hal was shocked. His geeky little brother wanted to fight?

"Ben… have you ever even held a gun before?"

"Well… no, but…"

"Ben…"

"Hal!" Ben shouted, forgetting completely about Matt. "I'm fourteen! Jimmy's the same age as me and he's been a Fighter for a long time now! Teach me… teach me how to shoot; how to fight. You know that I'm stronger now. I'm faster, more resilient and you know that I'm a quick study. Please, Hal… just ask, for me?"

The eldest brother looked down at the hand tightly gripping his wrist, the grip stronger than he ever remembered his brother being and realised that Ben was right. He _was_ stronger, faster and more resilient. Those traits could come in handy, but at what price?

"Alright…" he stopped at the grin blossoming across his brother's features. "Look, you can come with me to the briefing this morning and ask Captain Weaver yourself. He can make the decision. But if he says no, that's it. Okay?"

Ben nodded, the grin still clearly in place. "Sure."

_-FALLING SKIES-_

Captain Dan Weaver stood in the tent that served as the command centre. There were several others in the tent with him; Dai, Anthony, Maggie, Jimmy and Pope. He was just waiting on Hal to arrive so that they could start the briefing and figure what on earth they were going to do next. They had lost too many fighters in the attack on the Boston tower and with the amount of civilians they were to protect… it was going to be a hard road ahead of them.

Weaver was snapped out of his thoughts as Tom Mason's eldest son entered the tent, followed by the middle child; Ben.

"Hal? What's going on?" he asked, wondering why the dark-haired teenager had brought along his younger brother to a classified briefing. He was a little shocked when the younger Mason spoke up instead of his elder brother.

"I wanna fight."

A snort erupted from Pope at the statement. "Come again?"

The young boy's eyes narrowed. "I want to fight," he repeated. At this, Pope couldn't contain the laughter and Weaver glared at the ex-con.

"And why would you want to do that, Ben?"

"Because you need all the help you can get. Because of the harness, I'm faster, I'm stronger and I'm more resilient than I've ever been before. You could use me."

Well, he had to hand it to the kid. He was gutsy that's for sure. "And you're fourteen years of age," he pointed out. He wasn't keen on using kids as fighters, but Jimmy was roughly the same age as the Mason boy and he was coping fine. And to be honest, they _did_ need all the help they could get. They were low on fighters as it was.

"…Alright, but-"

"You can't be _serious_!?" exclaimed Pope.

Weaver glared at the man. Why he had invited the convict to the briefing in the first place was beyond him. "And what seems to be the problem, Pope?"

The shaggy-haired man glared right back. "How do you know if he can be trusted?! The kid's got freakin' _spikes_ sticking out of his spine and you wanna hand him a _weapon_?! Come on!"

Weaver could see the kid's hackles rising as Pope slammed him. "Pope, _I_ am in charge here, not you! And if I decide to give the kid a weapon, then it is my decision, not yours!"

He turned to Hal. "I trust that you will take care of training Ben and making sure he follows the chain of command? He'll be your full responsibility."

Hal nodded. "Of course."

"Good. I'll bring you up to speed about the plans later. You can go and get a weapon sorted for Ben and get him up to speed. Dismissed."

The two Mason brothers left the tent and Weaver wondered whether he was doing the right thing by handing Ben a gun. There was no telling what that harness had done to him, or what it was still doing.

* * *

End Chapter 1

_Next time: Ben starts his training. Matt begins to feel left out and the 2__nd__ Mass is under attack. _

A/N: Well, there is the first chapter. I have no idea where this story will be going or how quick updates will be, I just had the idea in my head after re-watching all of Season 1 and the aired eps of Season 2 and it wouldn't leave me alone.

After having a look at the Falling Skies fandom, I also decided that there needs to be WAY more stories in the fandom =] It's such an amazing show. I have a few oneshot ideas floating around to, so watch out for them.

Hope the chapter was good and that you enjoyed it! Please leave feedback, as this is my first Falling Skies fic and I would love to see if the characterizations were right etc. Also, they haven't elaborated much on what happened right after the Boston attack and those three months, so if anything is wrong, I do apologize. Creative licence is being used XD

Sorry for the long authors note! Thanks for reading!

-Dancer


	2. Chapter 2

**So sorry for all the chapter swaps etc etc! Something went wrong with my laptop when I was fiddling round with a few things and I ended up deleting chapters and uploading the wrong ones and then managed to incur the wrath of the dreaded Blue Screen Of Death. What a nightmare! So once again, sorry!**

**Hopefully everything is now fixed...**

**UPDATED 02/08/2012**

* * *

Well, here we go! Hope you all enjoy the latest chapter. And I hope everyone watching the show is enjoying it as well? What did you think of the latest episode?

* * *

WE ALL BLEED THE SAME WAY

DANCERINTHEDARK101

* * *

Summary: [Set between S1 and S2] The three months where the Mason family dynamics changed so much; where Hal became the leader, Ben decided to pick up a gun and fight; and Matt was left just hoping his family came back alive.

* * *

**CHAPTER 2**

_-FALLING SKIES-_

_Bang… bang… bang… bang…_

Ben felt the kick of the semi-automatic weapon gripped in his arms as he fired off round after round. The simple black and white target nailed to a tree was decimated by several holes; many near the crudely drawn bullseye, but most were situated around the edges.

He had only been shooting for the better part of an hour and it was taking him a lot longer to get the feel of the weapon than he had first thought.

Lowering the weapon, Ben flicked on the safety and stared at the target, angry at himself. It was just after two o'clock in the afternoon; he would have to stop soon and that annoyed him. After Captain Weaver had given Hal the go-ahead to train him with a weapon, his older brother had taken him aside and very sternly told him exactly what was expected from him.

"_You will obey either mine or Captain Weaver's commands at all times, is that clear Ben? And I will not be giving you a weapon until I have run through all the basic safety and information you need to know." _

So that was why, after several hours of seemingly endless lectures about weapon safety, how to take care of the weapons and other relevant information, Hal had finally taken him to the impromptu armoury and told him to pick out a weapon. Whatever gun he chose was going to be his responsibility, so he was going to have to choose carefully.

Hal had teased him as he had slowly looked through the large amounts of weapons, looking for the perfect one. It had taken the better part of 20 minutes before he found the one he was looking for. It was a semi-automatic; black, sleek, with a scope and it looked _lethal_.

Feeling someone move behind him, Ben turned as saw his older brother leaning against a nearby tree with somewhat of a smile on his face.

"What?"

Hal laughed; must have been the look on his face or something. "Nothing…" he said, still smiling. "Just never thought I'd see the day that my geeky little math freak of a brother picked up a gun; and _willingly_ at that."

As quickly as it had come, the smile dropped off Hal's face and Ben sighed.

"Yeah…It's the world we live in, not the world we want," he whispered, echoing his brother's words from earlier. He had never thought he would have ever picked up a gun either. Back before the invasion, he was quite happy to sit back and work on his homework or read a book. Now he was being trained in the art of weaponry by his sixteen-year-old brother.

The blonde-haired teen watched as Hal pushed himself off the tree he was leaning on and ambled over, gun still strapped across his back.

"Okay, let's see what you got kiddo."

Ben glared. Hal was always calling him 'kid' or 'kiddo' when in actual fact; he wasn't even that much younger than the sports freak himself!

"Hal, I'm fourteen. I'm not a kid anymore."

When Hal didn't reply, Ben sighed and raised the weapon to the firing position again, staring through the scope at the white target pinned to the tree. Hal came up behind him and nudged his right leg forward, correcting his stance. Shifting slightly, Ben closed his eyes, flicked the safety off and breathed out, letting the exhale calm his slightly frazzled nerves. It was going to take a while before that wore off, he thought.

Pressing the trigger, Ben let a few shots off. The weapon recoiled, but Ben held fast before flicking the safety on again and looking over to the target. He smiled when he saw three small bullet holes piercing the inner circle of the bullseye.

That was something he had noticed getting better over the past few weeks; his eyesight. Ben found that he was able to see much better in the dark and everything seemed clearer and sharper. At first it had given him headaches, not accustomed to the sudden change, but after a few days they had diminished enough not to hinder him.

He hadn't told anyone about the changes he felt. The increased vision, sharpened hearing, even the incredible strength and stamina; that at night left his muscles aching and severe cramps rocking his body.

"All right little bro!"

A hand clapped him on the shoulder and Ben turned to see Hal standing behind him, a small smile adorning his features. Lowering the weapon, Ben also saw Captain Weaver, Maggie, Dai and Pope standing behind Hal. They were looking on with significantly different expressions, Ben noted. Weaver looked mildly impressed, but wary at the same time; Maggie definitely looked impressed, but there was a hint of something else that Ben was pretty sure was aimed at his older brother, not him. Dai looked completely shocked, so much so that his mouth was actually hanging open and Pope… well Pope looked _pissed_.

Shrugging his shoulders, the middle Mason looked back to Hal. "Are we done for the day?" At Hal's nod, Ben leaned closer to his brother. "Then what's with the audience?" he whispered.

"They just wanted to come see how you've been handling everything," was the answer he got, but Ben knew that there were other reasons behind the unexpected visit.

_-FALLING SKIES-_

Ben was woken the next morning by someone shouting his name and shaking him awake. Groaning, he tried to roll over and go back to sleep (which he'd actually managed to get some that night), but his plans were foiled as someone grabbed his arm and actually pulled him off the stretcher.

"What the hell!" he shouted, very awake and pissed off. He glared up at Hal, who was staring down at him with a worried look on his face.

"What's wrong?"

"Get geared up; we gotta go," was Hal's response before going back to strapping on his belt with his knife and other essentials.

"Hal!"

"Look, Ben I don't have time for your questions!" Hal snapped. Ben froze. "There's a group of Mechs and Skitters heading this way and there's not enough time to get everyone out so we have to make sure they don't get here."

Mouth open, Ben nodded. That had to be a new track record or something. One day of weapon training and he was already going into combat. Taking in a deep breath as he heaved himself off the ground, he realised that he wasn't afraid. He was pumped, ready for action. Where had the fear gone?

Quickly throwing on a pair of dark jeans and a black t-shirt, he grabbed a pair of worn sneakers and tied them up before reaching for the belt Hal had thrown at him moments earlier.

The belt had a sheath attached that held a wicked looking hunting knife and a few other things dangling off it that Ben had no idea what they were. Reaching over the camp stretcher, he grasped the strap of his gun before checking the safety was on and slinging it over his back. Lastly, he picked up his favourite pair of fingerless gloves and slipped them on before racing out of the tent.

He found his brother with the Captain, Maggie, Dai and Pope's Berserkers. They were standing around a pickup truck, reloading clips of ammo and discussing the next cause of action. Ben bit his lip as he made his way over, unsure as to what he was actually supposed to be doing.

"Ben!" called out Weaver. Nodding in response, the middle Mason walked over, hiding a wince as the gun slung across his back grazed across one of the spikes in his spine. It sent a jolt of pain through his back, but he quickly dismissed it. That kind of thing happened all the time. It was just a matter of getting used to it.

"Hey Hal. Captain Weaver." He nodded at each of them as he spoke. "What's up?"

"I take it Hal has briefed you as to what has been found?" At his confirmation, Weaver continued. "Right. Here's what we're going to do. Pope and his Berserkers are going to head in first, scope the place out and do a quick recon of where we could position our troops for optimum firing range and limited damage control. Then Hal, Maggie and Ben are going to do a sweep and get into position for the long range guns to be most useful. I want to keep Ben out of the immediate action if we can help it. Then Dai, his team and I will be bringing up the rear. We must NOT let the Mechs and Skitters through, at least giving the civilians and the rest of the fighters a chance to pack up and get the hell out of there. Any questions?"

All shook their heads. At that Weaver nodded. "Alright. Pope, get your Berserkers all locked and loaded and ready to go in ten. Hal, Maggie; get Ben sorted with ammo and meet me at the red pickup in five. Dai, get your team sorted and onto the bikes. We'll regroup at the water plant and head out from there. Now, go!"

Hal and Maggie took off and Ben raced after them. They arrived another pickup where they immediately started sorting out ammo and checking their weapons. Ben stood there, unsure what to do for a few minutes while the two older fighters organised their guns. When Hal finished, he turned to Ben.

"Alright, hand me your gun." Ben did so and Hal started to pull out a few extra clips and fill them with bullets before handing them to Ben and instructing him to put them on his belt for easy access.

"It's probably gonna get pretty messy out there Ben. You sure you're up for it?"

"I'll be fine, Hal. It's not like I'm gonna be in the middle of everything. You and Weaver are making sure of that." He didn't mean for it to come out so sarcastic, but to be honest he was a little pissed that Weaver intentionally put him on long range weapons to keep him out of the way.

Hal sighed, reaching up and rubbing his forehead. "Ben, you've only been trained with a weapon for one day. We just wanna make sure that you're safe. That's all."

"Yeah, sure"

Hal shook his head. "Whatever, just listen to what Weaver or I say, alright? Good. Now, let's roll out!"

Guns in front, ready to fire if necessary, the two Mason brothers and Maggie headed to the nearest truck and bikes that would take them to where the Mechs and Skitters were headed their way. They had no idea what was in store for them and whether or not everyone would make it back safe and unharmed.

Neither Ben nor Hal saw the small figure peering out of a tent, golden curly hair flopping in front of green eyes that were wet with tears.

As his brothers left to go fight the aliens, Matt Mason sat alone in his father's tent and cried, hoping that the last of his family would come back to him alive.

* * *

Another chapter down =] Thanks to everyone who has read/reviewed etc so far! Sorry there was no action this chapter – the fight with the Skitters and Mechs will definitely be next chapter XD

Thanks for taking the time to read! Let me know what your thoughts are.

Thanks again

-Rachel


	3. Chapter 3

**So sorry for all the chapter swaps etc etc! Something went wrong with my laptop when I was fiddling round with a few things and I ended up deleting chapters and uploading the wrong ones and then managed to incur the wrath of the dreaded Blue Screen Of Death. What a nightmare! So once again, sorry!**

**Hopefully everything is now fixed...**

**UPDATED 02/08/2012**

* * *

WOW. Has anyone seen the latest episode, and/or the promo for the next episode? HOLY CRAP! I can't wait for next week now! This show just keeps on getting better and better – it sucks that they only have ten episodes a season, but at least it's already been renewed for a third season XD

Here is the latest chapter – hope you all enjoy!

Thanks for all the amazing reviews guys. You rock!

**PLEASE READ NOTE AT END REGARDING THE FIRST PART OF THE CHAPTER.**

* * *

**WE ALL BLEED THE SAME WAY**

**DANCERINTHEDARK101**

* * *

Summary: [Set between S1 and S2] The three months where the Mason family dynamics changed so much; where Hal became the leader, Ben decided to pick up a gun and fight; and Matt was left just hoping his family came back alive.

* * *

**CHAPTER 3**

_-FALLING SKIES-_

He froze. He was standing there, gun in hand and Skitter right in front of his face and he froze. The six legged creature twittered something inaudible before moving forward, its mouth open in a snarl, ready to attack. And he still stood there, unable to move a muscle.

"Ben!"

Someone screamed his name and it was only then that the teen managed to regain control over his limbs. He took in a shaky breath before closing his eyes and pulling the trigger on his weapon. He felt the kick from the bullets leaving the chamber before slamming point-blank into the Skitter right before him.

Some kind of liquid splattered all over his face and body and somewhere in the back of his mind, Ben knew it was blood, but he continued to fire. He kept firing at the collapsed and motionless body of the Skitter. He kept firing until a hand gently rested on his arm, breaking him out of the trance he had been in.

Taking in huge, quick and gasping breaths, Ben looked up at the owner of the hand. It was his brother, Hal.

"Hey, Ben. You okay?" Ben ignored his brother in favour of trying to keep his breathing steady. Hal's hand gripped his arm tightly and he was dragged out of the way of the dead Skitter and into a nearby alley. Still ignoring everything around him, Ben struggled to get himself under control. His breathing was still a mess and he could feel himself trembling. What was wrong with him?

"Ben, breathe…Ben!"

Gasping, he felt his legs give way and he slumped against the wall before sliding down to sit on the ground, gun resting in his lap.

"Ben. Hey, Ben… it's okay. You're okay…"

Snapping his head up, Ben stared into his brother's eyes. He opened his mouth to say he was sorry, but nothing came out. Wiping a hand across his eyes, the middle Mason was shocked to see it come away covered in a dark reddish black substance; blood of the Skitter.

He gagged before leaning over and throwing up the meagre contents of his stomach. In the distance he could hear gunfire and the low mechanical moans of the Mechs. He leant back against the wall before looking at his brother again.

"Sorry…" And he meant it. He didn't think it was supposed to be this hard. He had seen his brother and father shoot Skitters all the time. Hell, he'd heard that his dad had captured a Skitter single-handed and had brought back to the high school as a prisoner of war.

So why was he reacting so bad?

"Ben… hey. It's okay. You're okay," his brother repeated before grabbing his hand and hauling him to his feet. "Just stick with me, okay? I'll make sure you're safe."

Nodding somewhat distractedly, Ben took a few deep, cleansing breaths to calm himself before fighting back the urge to get the hell out of there and followed his brother back into the battle-zone.

Immediately they were thrust back into the war, bullets zipping every which way and Ben looked past his brother's shoulder and saw a wall of moving Skitters headed their way. Behind them were three Mechs, lazers scanning the area and shooting when movement was spotted.

Feeling his breathing begin to quicken again, Ben closed his eyes and thought of everyone who was counting on him to keep it together. He had to be strong, for the rest of the group out tonight risking their lives for those back at camp.

"You hanging in there, Ben?" Hal asked. Ben nodded as his breathing eased a little. He could do this.

Gripping his gun tighter, Ben stopped and looked through the sight on the top of the weapon. Thinking of the training his brother had put him through only yesterday, the blonde-haired fighter let a deep breath out and pulled the trigger.

With his heightened senses, Ben could almost _see_ the bullets whizzing through the air before they slammed into the middle Mech, throwing the machine backwards as they battered the head area, before it slumped to the ground, dead.

As the Mech fell, the two others accompanying it went into a frenzy, aiming their weapons towards where Ben and Hal were stationed. Quickly ducking behind an overturned car, Ben looked at his brother just as the Mechs opened fire on their location.

The bullets hit the car with astonishing force, sending the car into a roll before crash landing a few feet away and bursting into flames. Ben felt shrapnel from the vehicle slice into his cheek as he scrambled away from the wreckage to another hiding spot. But he couldn't see Hal anywhere…

"HAL!"

Ben screamed as he looked over the wreckage site for his brother. It took a few seconds of anxious looking before he spotted Hal's body lying underneath some of the metal that had been ripped off the car in the explosion. From this distance, Ben could see blood dripping from a cut on his forehead. He was unconscious.

"Oh god… Hal."

Trying to get his runaway emotions under control, Ben surveyed the area. To his left, Maggie, Dai and Anthony were facing off against four Skitters that were attempting to climb up the surrounding buildings in an attempt to reach them.

Some distance in front of him, Captain Weaver, Pope and several of the Berserkers were firing at the remaining Skitters – leaving the two Mechs to himself and Hal. Only Hal wasn't in any condition to fight. That left it up to him.

He quickly checked his remaining bullets, realising with dread that there weren't nearly enough to take down two Mechs. But that would have to wait. His first order of business was getting Hal.

Knowing that he wasn't going to be able to get any help in rescuing his older brother, Ben surveyed his options. The two remaining Mechs were heading their way and would be right on his brother in a matter of minutes. He was going to have to distract them in order to free Hal from the wreckage pinning him.

Ben saw the opportunity only moments later. Some kind of hand grenade was lying on the ground near him. Taking a closer look, he saw that it looked like the ones Hal carried. It must have fallen off his belt when the car was thrown by the explosion. It would do.

The middle Mason had absolutely _no idea_ how to safely work a grenade, so he figured that he would just do what he had seen on countless action movies. They pulled the pin and threw the thing as far away as they could. Surely, movies wouldn't lie that much, would they?

Running out of time to think of a better option, Ben pulled the pin-like thing off the top of the grenade and threw it as far as he could; which actually ended up being a very long way.

Mouth open in shock, Ben watched in surprise as the grenade exploded as it hit the outer wall of a building a fair way down the street. The resulting explosion rocked the street as the walls began to crumble and collapse in on themselves. The Mechs turned and fired towards the area, their original target forgotten.

Shaking himself out of the shock, Ben quickly scrambled over to where his brother was lying and attempted to move the scraps of metal off his body. Putting two fingers on his neck, ben felt for a pulse and felt relief wash through him as he registered the steady beats of Hal's heart.

"Hal!" As soon as his brother was freed, Ben shook him in an attempt to wake him up. Hal groaned as his eyes sluggishly opened and Ben took a moment to revel in the fact before hoisting him up and rushing off to a safer place.

"Ben?" At hearing Hal's voice, Ben slowly lowered his brother to the ground, fighting back a gasp as pain shot through his right shoulder. "Wha… What happened?"

Getting the pain under control, Ben let out a breath before answering. "Mechs hit the car we were hiding behind. You got thrown when the car exploded; it knocked you out." He reached up and placed two fingers gently against the cut on Hal's forehead, apologizing quickly as Hal winced in pain.

"You're gonna have one hell of a headache later, bro."

Hal was about to answer, when a voice cut through the air.

"Hal! Ben!"

It was Captain Weaver. Come to think of it, Ben couldn't hear any gunfire any more. They must have killed all the Skitters and Mechs.

"Over here!" When had his voice become so hoarse? Ben struggled to contemplate that, his mind drifting. The next thing he knew, Captain Weaver, Dai and Maggie were standing before him, worried looks crossing their faces.

He smiled weakly up at them. "Hi." And then he promptly passed out.

_-FALLING SKIES-_

Hal sat in the chair next to his brother's bed, watching him as he slept. It had been an eventful day for the kid and not necessarily in a good way. He had woken about an hour before hand after passing out on the way back to camp. He now had several stiches in his forehead and a bandage around his right ankle where he had twisted it trying to get away from the exploding car.

Captain Weaver had explained to him what had happened, but there were still some things that had everyone puzzled and Hal had a feeling that Ben would know exactly what had gone down. He felt bed for thrusting his brother into a war zone so soon. He had thought that he might have been able to handle it straight off, but it was evident pretty early on that it was going to take a while.

The kid might be a natural with a weapon, but when it came to actually facing the Skitters… well that was an entirely different story. Hal had told the captain about Ben freezing up when coming face to face with a Skitter. He had been worried that Weaver would have taken that the wrong way and banned Ben from missions, but the captain was surprisingly lenient and understanding.

"_So Ben froze?"_

"_Yeah," Hal nodded, still slightly drowsy from the pain medication and the headache pounding behind his eyes. "He was fine up until then, but when the Skitter snuck up on us and Ben turned and saw it… he locked up. It took me a few tries to get him to snap out of it and then he just kept on firing at it until well after it was dead."_

_Weaver looked apprehensive and Hal swallowed. This wasn't looking good. _

"_Do you think it will be an issue in the future?"_

_Shaking his head slightly, Hal answered. "No. I think that it was a one-time thing. It can be a huge shock actually coming face-to-face with them and with everything Ben's gone through because of those things already…"_

_Weaver nodded and Hal felt relief run through him. _

"_With what information I have managed to gather about what happened, it sounds like Ben saved your life, Hal. If it hadn't been for him, you would have stayed trapped under that wreckage and the Mechs or Skitters would have been on you in seconds."_

"_I know. I owe him my life. I actually think we all do."_

Hal was brought out of his thoughts by a low moan coming from the bed. Leaning forward, the black-haired teen watched as Ben screwed his eyes up before slowly opening them. His brother blinked sluggishly a few times before turning his head towards him.

"Hal?" His voice was weak and hoarse. "What happened? Where am I?"

"You're okay. You're in the med bus. You passed out after you rescued me."

The memory came to Ben in a rush. Hal could see it in his eyes; they widened slightly before hardening into pools of deep green.

"The Mechs and Skitters are dead?" he asked, struggling into a sitting position and wincing as his shoulder was moved the wrong way.

"Take it easy, Ben," Hal urged. "And yeah, they're dead. Thanks to you."

Ben looked confused, so Hal explained what had happened after he had been rescued from the wreckage. "Was it you who threw the grenade that distracted the Mechs?"

His younger brother nodded. "Yeah. I didn't really think it would go that far though. I guess as long as it worked…" he trailed off.

"You saved my life, Ben. And everyone else's too. So… thank you."

He leaned forward and brought his brother into a light hug just as Matt came barrelling into the bus. Hal smiled and grabbed his younger brother into the hug as well, just happy that even though their father was gone, their small was still around to fight another day.

But even through the relief that was racing through him at his brother's safety, he couldn't help but wonder just how much the harness had affected him. With the increased stamina and now increased strength… just how far were these changes going to go?

Pulling out of the hug, Hal turned to Ben. "Get some rest. Doctor Glass wants that shoulder rested for at least a day. When you wake next, I'm sure that Captain Weaver's going to want to get your side of the story about what happened out there." He ruffled his brother's hair before standing, Matt following suit.

"I'm proud of you, Ben. You did great out there today and I'm sure that Dad would've been proud as well."

_-FALLING SKIES-_

Captain Weaver stood outside the med bus with Anne Glass as Hal spoke to his brother. Without Tom Mason around, both Hal and Ben were going to have to step up and take on more responsibility – Hal especially. He didn't want to have to thrust the two teenagers into the life of soldiers so quickly, but the 2nd Mass had to survive. He had a feeling that the battles they had to fight were going to grow in frequency, and he was going to need every able-bodied man available to keep the civilians safe.

Sharing a look with Doctor Glass, Weaver stepped away from the bus. He would give the Mason family the rest of the day off to spend together before their new duties began.

* * *

Well, there you have it :) Hope you all enjoyed the chapter and that the action was okay. I don't think I'm that great at action scenes… so I hope it read okay!

**About the first part: **I honestly think that (even though Ben is super, super awesome) coming face-to-face with a Skitter in combat for the first time would freak anyone out. I don't think that only a day after being taught how to shoot, Ben would be the awesome super-soldier you see in the first episode of season 2. But once that initial reaction, the adrenaline kicks in and instinct takes over, which is why Ben was still able to save his brother. I hope this makes sense? I just wanted to make it as realistic as possible, so I hope I have achieved that to some degree.

Oh, and I have another Falling Skies oneshot up – called _Twister_. It's a light-hearted snapshot about life with the 2nd Mass, so give it a read if it interests you.

Thanks for reading!

-Rachel


	4. Chapter 4

Here's the next chapter! Just a quick note about the other fic I have up about the missing months – it is essentially a re-write of this story. However, I'm going into a lot more detail with that one and this one is more of a sounding board for me to get my ideas out. I will be using the ideas from this fic to write my other one (Survival).

On another note – Congrats to New Zealand athletes competing at the Olympics! Three gold medals and four bronze! Not bad for a country of 4.4 million people XD

OH, AND WHO'S EXCITED FOR TOMORROW'S EPISODE? ME! XD

Enjoy the latest chapter.

* * *

**WE ALL BLEED THE SAME WAY**

_**DancerInTheDark101**_

* * *

_-Falling Skies-_

_Chapter 4_

Ben collapsed. He landed on his knees, chest heaving with the effort of regulating his breathing. Maggie hit the ground beside him, also breathing hard. She was battered and bruised, a deep cut slicing beside her right bleeding sluggishly in the pouring rain.

The sandy-haired fighter let his assault rifle clatter to the leaf-covered ground with a soft thud. He rested his chin on his chest, feeling the tightness in his chest release as his breathing came under control. Ben looked towards Maggie, who was also kneeling, her eyes closed. Her Colt M4A1 gripped tightly in her hands.

"…they gone?" he breathed, his voice not travelling far due to the sound of rain slapping against the leaves and foliage around them.

"I think so," Maggie replied. She looked up, still breathing heavy but she didn't look as out of breath as she had only moments before. "Grab your gun, Ben."

Ben obliged, picking up the sleek black weapon from where it was lying on the ground beside him. He unclipped the mag and checked the remaining bullets, cursing softly when he saw there were only a few left. That was his last mag. "Dammit!"

"What?" the blonde asked, also checking her weapon over.

"I'm almost out," he stated, jamming the mag back into the slot and pulling the strap over his head to rest on his shoulder. The gun slid into a resting position against his chest.

"I've got an almost full mag. Here, take some of mine." She slid the mag out and started tipping out some of the bullets. "It's lucky that our weapons use the same ammo." She grinned. "It comes in handy."

Ben chuckled lightly before accepting the ammo. He proceeded to place the gold-coloured ammunition into the mag, uttering a 'thank you' as he did.

Originally, they were going to send Ben out to start patrolling with his brother. After the initial Skitter fiasco where he'd frozen up, the middle Mason boy had requested to start going on patrols. He wanted to learn the ropes, start to become some use to the Second Mass. Both Hal and Pope had been against the idea, for very different reasons. Ben had argued the point. If he was old enough to go on a mission with them, then surely he was old enough to patrol?

In the end it had been Captain Weaver who had given him the nod. Ben had been shocked, but thankful. He wanted to prove that he could be useful. But Weaver had stated one condition; he was only to patrol with Dai or Maggie at first. At least until his combat skills increased. He could handle a weapon fine; it was the actual fighting part of being a fighter that Ben was struggling with.

There was also the fact that they were short on fighters for patrol. Hal had been given a promotion by Weaver to temporary XO. He wasn't alone in the promotion though, both Dai and Maggie were given the role to help whenever necessary. But Weaver had stated that Hal was not to go on patrol anymore as he needed him close in case anything popped up.

"Ben!"

Ben was shocked out of his thoughts as Maggie yelled his name. His head shot up and quickly scrambled to his feet. Just as he reached his full height, a high pitched sound ripped through his head, causing him to cry out in pain.

Pressing a hand to his forehead in an attempt to alleviate the agony, Ben felt his knees give way and hit the ground with a painful thud. He could feel Maggie's hands on his shoulders, struggling to get him back on his feet. He could barely think through the pain, the sharp noise not decreasing in any way.

"Make it stop…" he groaned, his eyes screwed shut. Ben knew the sound was from the Skitters and Mechs communicating, but he didn't know why it was so loud and painful. Were they close?

"Ben, c'mon! We gotta get outta here!" Maggie's words were like barbed wire stabbing through his skull. He cried out again, this time clamping his hands over his ears. Somehow, through the pain, Ben was able to make it to a standing position. Maggie was gripping his upper arms tight and he was pretty sure that was the only thing keeping him upright.

The young fighter could feel himself losing the battle to stay conscious. The pain was so bad he could barely think straight, let alone endeavour to think of a way to get out of the mess they had landed themselves in.

And then it was gone.

Ben gasped, the shock of the agony disappearing like an ice cold bucket of water being dumped on his head. His eyes snapped open and he dropped his hands from his head. Immediately after, one hand shot up to cover his mouth as a sudden and severe bout of nausea rocked the young boy.

He dove for the nearest bush, vomiting painfully into the leaves.

"Ben?" was the tentative question from Maggie. "Are you okay?"

Ben didn't answer, instead gagging as the taste of vomit coated the inside of his mouth. Giving himself a few seconds to compose himself, Ben stood as he wiped the back of a hand across his lip.

"Y-yeah," he stammered. "I'm fine."

Maggie didn't look at all convinced at his statement but nodded anyway. "Okay. We've gotta get out of here. I don't know how close those Skitters are and I don't want to find out."

Ben nodded. He could feel the Skitters in his mind. Somehow, something had had happened and now he could tell exactly where and how far away the Skitters were. He didn't like it one bit.

Staying quiet, the sandy-haired teenager straightened and spat nearby to get rid of the last of the disgusting taste in his mouth. "Let's go. We've gotta tell Hal and Weaver."

Maggie's eyes narrowed as she listened to her younger partner. She was worried. Ben's sudden collapse and subsequent vomiting was definitely related to the Skitters. She knew he could hear the frequencies used by the aliens to communicate, but she'd never seen him have such a reaction to it. The last time he'd been that indisposed had been when Uncle Scott had found a way to broaden the range of the transmitter; clamping a few jumper leads to the school flag pole. Ben had lain on a cot for hours afterwards, headache pounding through his brain.

But this had been something completely different. It had been more intense, the pain going as far to make the young boy cry out.

Keeping an eye on Ben, Maggie gripped her gun and followed him, breaking into a run as they heard the distant sounds of Mechs reached their ears. They needed to get back to camp, and fast.

* * *

Hal Mason heard the yells well before he saw those making the sounds. He and Weaver shared a look before rushing out of the tent and into the main area of the camp. The eldest Mason brother saw Maggie headed towards him, running. She was followed by Ben, whose face was unnaturally pale and his eyes wide.

"What the hell is going on?" Weaver barked as soon as he saw them. Maggie stopped in front them, bending double and placing her hands on her knees as she sucked in precious air. Ben stood behind her, hand on his chest as he did the same.

"…Mechs… coming this… way," she explained through gasps. "Not sure… how far… away…"

Hal felt his eyes widen. Shit. They'd found them. He turned to Weaver, whose face had closed off completely.

"Right!" His voice boomed out over the suddenly silent crowd. "Pack up! We're moving out in ten!"

Luckily, they had only just begun to unpack the camp. It wouldn't take long to pack everything up and get the cars on the road.

"Jimmy, Anthony and Pope: you head to the bridge and see what you can do about stalling them if need be. Maggie, you and Dai grab two of the motorbikes and head out. I want to know how many, where they are and how long until they'll be on us!"

Hal watched as they started to move out, feeling a little useless as he just stood there. However, they didn't get far as a quiet voice stopped them in their tracks.

"Two Mechs and four Skitters. Heading in from the west. They're roughly ten miles out."

Ben.

Hal felt his mouth drop open as Ben spoke. What in the hell?

"What?" Captain Weaver questioned, inching towards the lithe boy.

"There are two Mechs and four Skitters approximately ten miles west of here."

"Ben, how do you know that?" Hal asked, also approaching his younger brother. The entire area was silent and Hal could see everyone staring at his brother; or more specifically, the metal rods sticking out of his spine.

"I just do," he snapped. Hal frowned. What the hell was wrong with Ben? But unfortunately, they didn't have the time to drill him on his intel. If what Ben was saying was true, they needed to get out of here and fast.

"Alright," Weaver said. "All those I gave jobs to before – move! We've got maybe half an hour before they are on us and I want us long gone by that time!" The militia captain stared at Ben. "Ben, Hal – with me."

Hal strode after his brother and the captain, his mind racing as everything went to shit.

Was Ben right? Hal struggled to think of what that meant if he was. Did that make him some kind of walking Skitter alarm? And what did it mean for his place in the Second Mass? When did everything become so complicated?

* * *

Okay, so there's the fourth chapter. I wrote this while watching the Olympics women's marathon so I was a little distracted at times. I hope it makes sense!

About Ben's little episode in the woods: I thought I'd just explain this a little. As we know, in Season 2, Ben is able to sense the Skitters. I thought I'd elaborate as to how and when that happened. In my mind, I see it as a switch being flicked. The frequencies that he could hear triggered something in the aftereffects of the harness and it opened like a floodgate – which was too much for his body to handle at once. Hence the intense pain. It cuts back a little as to not damage his mind, but instead acts like a compass of sorts – a tingling in his mind that signals to him.

Does that make sense?

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Sorry it's a bit shorter than normal.

Please, please PLEASE review! I really would love to hear your feedback and thoughts about my writing and the direction I'm taking the story in.

Thanks :)


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